The Burden
by 67chevyyimpala
Summary: Grace was living an awful life with no family or friends. She's been working in a brothel for years and was constantly being terrorized by her boss, Chad. Day in day out, same routine, costumers coming and leaving, until one day, two hunters stepped foot into the building. They immediately caught Grace's attention and little did she know, they were her key out...
1. Chapter 1 - Grace

**Chapter 1**

 _Grace_

"An hour with number 306," Grace looked up from her journal and frowned at the man, leaning on the counter. "The lady has a name," she seethed through gritted teeth. The man leaned in closer to me. "Chick number 306, you whore," he said quietly. Grace got off the chair and slammed her hand onto the marble counter, cursing in her mind from the impact. "How about you show some respect?" Grace was a lot shorter than the guy but still came off as menacing. At least until her boss came walking towards them.

"Is there a problem, Brody?" he asked the man. Brody started grinning like the idiot he is, in Grace's opinion.

"Yes, I believe there is. See, your girl here," Grace shuddered at the words 'your girl'. "…disrespected me. Do you really think this position suits her?" Brody looked her up and down.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Chad asked his employee. Grace followed him into the back room. When Chad closed the door, he turned around and grabbed her arm, yanking her towards him. Grace yelped in pain by the sudden action. "You listen to me! Whatever costumers say, you do what they want, do you understand? Your childish behavior is taking us nowhere!" he hissed, digging his fingers into her skin.

"Chad, let go," Grace whispered, avoiding eye contact. "Just do what you're told to," he said, pushing her away and leaving.

Grace sat down on a chair and tried to calm herself down. How many times had she told herself not to listen to the douchebags approaching her but she always felt like she needed to defend the girls.

When she thought she was okay, she left the room and walked back behind the counter, Chad and the customer long gone. She closed her journal and leaned back on the fluffy chair, trying to drown out the noises behind closed doors.

People walked in and out of The Boiling Stream as Grace watched every single one of them. She has been working in the brothel for years now, but you couldn't say she ever got used to it. Grace still hoped to get out of there one day. That day, however, seemed to lay too far in the future. Or so she thought.

The two men who walked in next caught Grace's attention. There were dressed in suits, not as if other costumers weren't but there was something about the way they stepped into that place that made her want to approach them. She just pushed herself off the chair when Chad came walking out of his office, which was on the other side of the big hall, opposite of where Grace was. He held a hand up to her, signalling for her to sit back down and made his way over to the gentlemen himself.

Grace tried to listen in on their conversation but was too far away hear anything. Minding her own business, Grace scribbled down notes into her journal, when she got the feeling of being watched. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the three men look at her. Clearly getting nervous, she tried to fix her attention back on the notes but started fidgeting around in her chair, making it impossible to ignore the staring.

Grace stood up and walked toward the restroom when she was called back. "Grace, darling?" Grace sighed and turned around, flashing Chad a fake smile. "Yes?" she asked in the sweetest voice she could muster and walked over to her boss.

"These two gentlemen want to ask you a few question, is that alright?" he asked her. To the strangers he probably sounded friendly when he'd said that, the look he shot Grace on the other hand was a warning not to say more than I had to.

"Sure, go on," Grace looked at the two guys. "I'm special agent Winters and this is special agent Chester," the one with green eyes said, both of them showing her their badges. "May we talk to her alone?" special agent Chester asked. Grace could tell Chad was uncomfortable with Grace talking to them without being there to make sure she didn't say anything he didn't want her to. Nevertheless, he agreed and left them alone.

Grace watched him go and turned back to the agents. "I'm all ears," she told them with a slight smile.

The agents Winters and Chester, Dean and Sam looked at each other when Sam nodded. "We're looking for someone, a girl and we were given the clue that she might be here. Your boss said you know every single girl here?" Sam cleared his throat. Grace looked at them, sadly and nodded. "I do. Is there anything else you know about this girl? It's hard to find out who you're looking for, mostly, we were all just…drifters you could say," Grace bit down on her lip and ran a hand through her hair.

"What's this?" Dean asked her, referring to her arm. Grace realized what he was talking about and put her arm back down, a little too quickly.

"Nothing, I just- uh," she stopped talking when Dean gently gripped her arm and lifted it, revealing the cuts where Chad dug his fingers into her skin. "Did he do that to you? I mean he did look like a douche," Dean said. Grace chuckled at his comment but switched back to being serious in a matter of seconds. "He did, but it's alright, so this girl you're looking for… you got a name or not?" Grace asked, changing the topic.

"After some research, we found out the girl was put into an orphanage and that she lived with several families," Sam started.

"Okay, what else do you got? There are plenty of us who came from an orphanage, found families and were sent back due to certain reasons," Grace said.

"It's good we got a name then," Dean said, pulling out a folded sheet of paper, giving it to Grace.

"That's one of the clues we got," Sam told her. Grace unfolded the piece of paper and read what it said.

Ella G.

Grace took a deep breath and looked back up at Sam and Dean. Sam noticed immediately and asked her, "You know her?"

"Y-yeah," Grace stuttered. "Even better, I am her," she finished. Sam's jaw dropped at Grace's words and looked over at Dean who was just as baffled as he was. Finding her was easier than they thought. "Are you serious?" Dean asked. "Didn't your boss call you Grace?"

"Yeah, the G. on this sheet stands for Grace. My name's actually Ella, I just prefer Grace," she explained. "I see. So what now, Dean? I didn't think we'd find her that quickly," Sam said.

"My name's Sam, by the way," Sam told Grace before looking back at Dean.

"I don't know, should we call Cas?" Dean questioned. Sam shrugged, "I don't know, we could but what do we tell _her_?" he asked.

Grace shot them a confused look. "I'm still here," Grace said, balancing on the heels of her feet.

"Right," Sam said.

"Grace, do you live somewhere near by any chance?" Sam focused his attention back on her. "Yes, I live right here," she said. Sam and Dean looked at her.

"You live in a brothel?" Sam shot his brother a look, who just shrugged in response. "Yeah, I also work in a brothel…" Grace looked down, ashamed. Sam looked at Dean accusingly and nudged him in the side.

"And that's okay, not judging here," he offered her smile. Grace shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. Why are you looking for me?"

"Someone sent us to find you," Sam explained to her. "Did they send you?" Grace asked, alert.

"Who do you mean by 'they'?" Sam furrowed his eyebrows.

"I guess that means no," Grace ignored his question.

Just when Sam was about to ask another question, Chad came walking out of his office and called out to them. "Gentlemen, if you don't mind, I need Grace to take care of a customer."

Chad nodded to a man who was leaning against a counter.

"I'll be right back," Grace excused herself from the agents and did as she was told to.

Walking behind the counter, she forcefully smiled at the broad-shouldered man. "Good evening, sir."

She recognized the man when she gave him a second glance and opened the locker that held the keys to the rooms.

"Amber, room #102?" she asked, holding up the key. "Amber called in sick today," Chad explained, gaining Grace's whole attention. "No, I talked to her this morning-"

"Do. Not…interrupt me."

Grace faced Chad, trying to read his expression. "I…I-" she stuttered. Chad stood next to his costumer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Berger, how about you take the girl from room #01?" Grace's face fell at Chad's words and she looked between the two of them and then at Dean and Sam who stood a few feet away, watching the scene.

"Wha- No!" Grace shrieked, gripping the edge of the counter tightly, until her knuckles turned white.

"Why not?" asked their guest.

"Th-that's my room," Grace said just above a whisper, staring down.

"Grace," Chad said, threateningly.

Dean nudged Sam, making him turn to him. "Do something, Sammy," he whispered. "What do you want me to do?" Sam asked back. "I don't know! Look at her, she doesn't want to…"

"It's a brothel, isn't that what they do?" Sam asked. Dean glared at him. "I'm sorry, I just don't think I could make a difference," Sam stated.

Dean sighed and turned his attention back on Grace and the two men. They were still arguing, Grace losing apparently. Dean cleared his throat. "My partner here, uh… wants to say something."

"What?" Sam said, surprised. Dean raised his eyebrows, gesturing to Grace with a nod. "Right, is this really necessary? The lady clearly doesn't want to go with this man," Sam pressed his lips together, waiting for a response.

"Excuse me, why are you sticking your nose into my business? This costumer is willing to pay and as long as no one else bids more than Mr. Berger, he can do whatever he-"

"How much?" Dean interrupted him.

"What was that?" Chad asked. "How much did he offer?" Dean asked.

"200 dollars," Chad answered him with a roll of his eyes. Dean scoffed. "I give you four hundred if you let her be, Dean suggested, pulling out his wallet.

"You're willing to pay for nothing?" Chad mused.

"It ain't nothing if I get to save girl from having to sleep with a man she doesn't even know."

Grace couldn't describe how glad she was and she didn't understand why Dean was helping her. He didn't know her.

"You know what? I'll make it a thousand if Grace can walk out those doors with us, no turning back," Dean suddenly said, pointing at the entrance. Grace's head snapped up to meet his eyes. Dean smiled at her encouragingly.

"Boy, you'll need much more than that if you want to take my sweet Grace home with you," Chad laughed. "Yeah, I don't think so. How about I make a call to the station and tell them you laid hands on the girl because she didn't do what you wanted?" Dean threatened.

"You told him?" Chad shot Grace a glare. Before Grace could say something, Dean butted in, "No, you just did, actually. I just saw the marks on her arm, that's all," Dean said.

"How dare you-"

"We're leaving. Grace, get your stuff," Dean said. Grace pulled her bag out of the drawer beneath her desk and slid her journal inside.

"Grace, I took you in. Don't you dare leave this place! You're not going in you room, forget it."

"I don't have to, this…this is all I need," Grace said, walking over to Sam and Dean's side.

"Let's go," Sam said, putting a hand on Grace's back, leading her outside.

"Don't think about coming here again, the girl you're looking for-"

"Oh, we already found her," Dean said with a smirk.

It was chilly outside and Grace shivered as they crossed the street to get to the Impala. "A 67 Chevy Impala," Grace whispered. "Yeah," Dean smiled at her. "Lucky you," Grace said, getting in the back of the car.

Grace remembered just now that she left what she'd called her home for years with two complete strangers. "Uh- Where are we going?"

"A motel," Dean said, smiling at her through the mirror. "That's quite strange for two agents, working on a case…" Grace stated.

"We're not agents or anything like that," Sam gave her an awkward look.

"What?" Grace screeched in shock. "Oh my god, I've been-"

"Grace, calm down, we just saved you from that guy. Believe me, we're just trying to help," Sam said.

"We've got a lot to-" Dean swerved to the left when Grace yelled all of a sudden.

"Damn it, Cas!"

"Is that her?" Cas asked after appearing next to Grace.

"You're an angel," Grace stated, after calming down.

Dean stopped the car and turned to her. "You know?"

"About the supernatural? Yeah, I've known since my mum died," Grace said. "Wait, is that why you're looking for me?"

Sam, Cas and Dean exchanged glances. "It is, huh? Did you ask them to find me?" Grace directed the second question to Castiel.

"No, how did you know I'm an angel? Angels are not the only one who can, how do you humans phrase it? I thing teleport is the word," Castiel tilted his head, lost in thoughts.

"I know an angel when I see one. It takes one to know one, right?" Grace chuckled nervously.

"Come again?" said Dean.


	2. Chapter 2 - Family Stories

**Chapter 2**

 _Family Stories_

"Ella, that's impossible," Castiel said. "Grace, it's Grace uh-"

"Castiel, but you can call me Cas, that's what Sam and Dean call me," he smiled innocently. Grace had to laugh.

"Alright, Cas. It is possible, though. I mean, my mother was an angel," she said, looking down at her hands in her lap, having Sam and Dean gape their mouths open at what she said.

"Let's just get to the motel and I'll tell you everything," she said after a minute. Dean nodded and started driving.

Sam flicked on the light switch, illuminating the room. They all walked in, set up their things while Grace stood in front of the now closed door, watching them awkwardly. Sam noticed and walked over to her. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just not used to this. It's been a really long time since I left that place," Grace said, referring to the brothel.

"I can understand, you don't have to talk about it now. Just know that if you need to talk to someone, we're here," Sam smiled.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it, but for now, I think I should tell you how I got there in the first place."

"Okay, how about we all sit down and have a nice little chat?" Dean said, overhearing their conversation.

Grace nodded and sat down on a chair at the table while Sam and Dean sat on their beds, Castiel standing, as usual.

"It all started when my mother died. I was twelve years old when it happened. Police officers came barging into our house and found me sitting there all by myself. They asked me if I had any other relatives and I told them I didn't. I guess they did some research and figured out I was right. I didn't need to ask them what had happened. I don't know how, but I just knew what happened to my mum.

So I was sent into an orphanage and found a family immediately. They loved me, or at least that's what I thought. After the first few weeks strange things started happening and they blamed me for it, which I thought was unfair considering it happened after I got there. There's always someone to blame for something, isn't there?

Never did I stay for longer than five months somewhere and the people from the orphanage were stuck with me, until one day this man came.

It was weird because I was seventeen years old then. The head of the orphanage was skeptical at first but thought the man to be suiting after a few meetings. My 'dad', Adrian was a nice man, gave me everything I needed. It was all a lie. The day I turned eighteen, he shoved me into that hellhole."

Sam and Dean let it all sink in while Cas was already willing to ask questions. "I'm very sorry for what you had to go through. I still don't understand how you know about angels and the supernatural," he wondered, tilting his head a little.

"I don't really know much about the supernatural," Grace admitted. "But I know there's more to everything. That's what it said in my mother's journal, at least. Before I was sent to the orphanage, I collected a few things my mum had and since then I carry those things around, always."

The boys' eyes wandered down to the floor, were Grace's bag was. "And that's all you ever needed, huh?" Dean asked pointing at the bag.

"Yeah, I felt like having to carry something that belongs to her. It's like she never really left..." Grace trailed off.

"Anyway," she snapped out of her thoughts. "I started looking through her journal the night I got into the orphanage and I didn't understand it at first. It was a completely different language. The weird part is, I was able to read it after staring at it long enough. I think my angel abilities kicked in right then-"

"Grace, do you mind if I take a look inside that journal?" Castiel suddenly spoke up.

"Not at all, hang on," Grace bent down and fished the journal out of the bag, tossing to at Cas, who caught it without any effort.

"Well, and then everything made sense. My mother mentioned angels quite a lot so I came to the conclusion that she was one of them-" Grace was interrupted once more.

"You're mother was not an angel," Castiel stated nonchalantly. Grace's head snapped up to him. "What? But the notes-"

"You've read them incorrectly. It says right here. You probably missed this part," he said, his eyes fixed on the pages.

"What does it say?" Sam asked.

"Grace's mother was a Nephilim, not an angel. It makes sense, Nephilim can understand Enochian. I believe it is harder for their children, but I wouldn't know, there never were any kids. Grace you're the first," he exclaimed.

Grace didn't know what to say and just sat there, her mouth forming an 'o'. "However, you're more human than anything else."

"How do you know?" Grace looked up at him. "We don't know what my father is," she finished.

"Why do you think your father was something? Wait- he's still alive? I'm sorry, that came out harsher than in my mind," Sam apologized.

"Don't worry. I don't know if he is still alive. He just vanished one day. My mum was puzzled too and hurt, obviously. That was five years before she died. She got over it eventually, I'll never know if she actually ever did or if she just tried to be strong for me. We were such a happy family..."

"I understand, our life's pretty messed up too," said Dean. That perked Grace's interest. "Why? What happened?" she was grateful not to have to talk about her anymore, though she suggested it somehow.

"Long story, short: We were a happy family, until our mum got killed by a demon who gave Sammy his blood. We didn't know that but found out a few years ago. Our dad found out about the supernatural that way and made us what we are now, resulting in crappy childhoods, no permanent home.

Things got worse with demons showing up all over the place, Sam turning into a junkie and all that, having powers. Oh, and we basically started the Apocalypse and what not..." Dean trailed off. Grace looked at him horrified.

"Dean, what about all the good things that happened?" Castiel asked.

"Yeah, and we met this guy here. Actually, he pulled me out of hell."

"Hell? Wow- that's pretty messed up," Grace mumbled. "Oh, you have no idea."

"But we saved people by hunting those who hunted them. We saved the world, Dean," Sam reminded his brother. "I know, Sammy but we lost so many people. It's all on us and you know that," Dean raised his voice.

Grace was getting uncomfortable by the sudden change of mood and made an attempt to stop it. "Hey, I shouldn't have asked, I-"

"You're damn right, you shouldn't have," Dean yelled at her.

"Dean," Sam tried but he wouldn't have it. "We're are you going?" asked Sam when Dean grabbed his jacket and his keys.

"Out," he slammed the door shut.

"I'm sorry, I know it was personal. What was I thinking?" Grace muttered. "No, it's not you're fault," Sam told her, Castiel nodded.

"Yeah, I keep telling myself that too."

Sam and Cas looked at each other. Somehow they knew there was more to it but they let it go for now.

"It's just...Dean's going through a lot lately and he hasn't been himself. It's nothing personal, it's just-"

"Dean?" Grace finished for Sam. "Yeah," he chuckled.

"You must be tired," Castiel said when Grace yawned. "Yeah, do you mind if I get cleaned up?" she asked.

"Go ahead, we'll just wait until Dean-" Sam stopped talking when the door swung open, revealing Dean. "I thought you were going out?" Sam raised his eyebrows.

"I changed my mind. I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me." "It's okay, Dean we understand."

"No, you don't and I'm not expecting you to. Anyway, Grace... I shouldn't have yelled at you, you just tried to-"

"Don't sweat it," she yawned, closing the room to the bathroom.

"Awesome, that went just great," Dean said, sitting down on the bed. He thought for a moment before turning to Cas. "Hey, Cas. Earlier you said you didn't send us to find her, why'd you lie?" he questioned him.

"I didn't," Cas said, defeated. "What?" Sam stood up. "Someone asked me to find her," he admitted.

"And you didn't tell us because...?" Dean crossed his arms in front of his chest, waiting for a response.

"I need to go," Cas said before he left.

"What's his problem?" Dean said, exasperated. "I don't know. Who do you think sent him?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, maybe God?" Dean said when thy heard the shower go on. The brothers looked at each other.

Grace heard everything. Sure, she felt bad about eavesdropping but they were talking about her. She had the right to know. When Castiel admitted it really wasn't him who was so eager to find her she wondered who else it could be.

She stepped into the shower and turned it on, trying to drown out her thoughts. Nevertheless, she still got a strange feeling, like she knew exactly who was looking for her.


	3. Chapter 3 - Bonding

**Chapter 3**

 _Bonding_

Grace woke up to the snoring of Sam and Dean, chuckling at the sight she was met with. Sam was sprawled on the bed on his stomach, his hands and feet dangling from the sides. Dean on the other hand was close to falling off the bed. Using this opportunity, Grace got up from the couch and walked over to his other side.

Clearing her throat, she prepared herself for what's coming next. Grace screamed from the top of her lungs, resulting in Dean to fall off the bed with a grunt, only to stand up and look around, confused at what was happening.

Sam was already standing on his bed, his gun pointed at Grace.

She ignored the fact that she had a gun pointed at her and doubled over, laughing hysterically. "It's not funny!" Dean yelled in frustration.

Sam enjoyed his brother's confusion and started laughing along. Dean glared at him and picked up the blanket he tugged with him in the process of falling from the ground, tossing it back on the bed.

"I practically saved you and this is how you repay me?" Dean said dramatically, on his way to the bathroom. "Yep!" she popped the 'p'. Grace still didn't have enough. She ran towards Dean and pushed him aside before he set foot into the bathroom, walked in herself, slamming the door shut.

"Really?!" Dean shouted at the closed door in front of him. He got laughing as a response. "I like her, she's fun," Sam mused. Dean turned towards his brother.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Dean and Sam were getting ready as they would be checking out of the motel soon. Grace sat on a bed, waiting for them to finish up.

"Dean, hurry!" she called out to him. "Why? I have all the time in the world," he smirked, packing up his things slower than he already did.

"Are you serious? Sam, is he serious?" Grace turned around on the bed, facing Sam. He just shrugged. "You're no help, Winchester."

"Hey, don't blame me, you were the one who caused this," he said, grinning. Grace rolled her eyes and swung her legs of the bed and stretched.

"You know, my clothes look good on you," Dean commented. Grace looked down at herself. She wore the black T-shirt and grey sweatpants Dean had put out for her to change into once she was done taking a shower.

"Thanks, I think I'm going to keep this outfit," she pointed at herself. "Those sweatpants are really comfortable," Dean mentioned. "I know, I've noticed." "You can't have those," Dean frowned. "Then you shouldn't have given them to me," Grace chirped.

"I can't believe how good her mood is," Dean told Sam. "Do you want her to be mad at us?" Sam put in.

"Hm, good point."

"Could we stop at a mall once we check out? I haven't been in one for years," Grace asked, shyly. "What happened to the loud girl?" Sam chuckled. "Sure, let's do that. I need some new stuff anyway."

"Torn up your clothing while on a hunt?" Grace questioned, skimming through her journal. "Yeah, pretty much."

"I need to get some food first," Dean joined back in on the conversation. "Of course you do."

"Yeah, I'm hungry too, actually," Grace told them. "Alright," Sam looked up from his bag and watched Grace reading.

"Did you find something interesting?" he asked her. Grace nodded, her eyes still on the pages. "It's funny. Ever since Cas told me I've read it wrong, it looks like everything's changed. It's weird..."

"I wonder, did you never ask yourself why you could read Enochian?" Now she met Sam's eyes. "Not really, sure I was surprised at first but then it all made sense. Oh, this just made me think of something," Grace put down her mother's notes and rummaged through her bag. "I wanted to ask Cas yesterday but since he left, I'll ask you," she said.

"Ah, here it is. I always hid it under everything else to avoid people asking me strange questions," she said, finally pulling out the object.

"Can anyone tell me what this thing can do? The little book has nothing about it in it. This thing looked weird enough for me to take with."

The boys looked at Grace twirling around an angel blade. "Woah, careful. That blade might actually kill you!" Sam said. Dean stepped closer to her and took the blade from her. "So your mum really was an angel, huh?" he smiled.

"Nephilim," Grace corrected him. "And what do you mean by 'it might actually kill me'? I'm pretty sure everything sharp can kill me."

"Well, it's an angel blade. It's one of the few things you can kill an angel with," Sam explained to her. "I'm not an angel and it could still kill me, awesome," Grace huffed.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Dean said, picking up his duffel bag and walked toward the door. "See, Sammy's still slower," he said, peeking at him over his shoulder. "Shut up," Sam responded.

"Alright, then." Grace stuffed her belongings back into her bag and followed Dean out into the Impala while Sam checked them out of the motel.

"Shotgun!" Grace yelled over at Sam, who turned around, eyes wide. "Hey, that's unfair!"

Dean laughed and loaded the trunk, Grace already in the passenger's seat. She then heard the trunk being closed and soon after that, Dean slid into his seat. They both waited for Sam to get back and drove off to a diner nearby.

"Uh- I'll have the double cheeseburger with extra bacon and french fries," Grace told the waitress. Sam gaped at her while Dean nodded, approving of her choice. "I'll have the same as the lady," Dean said, folding the menu together. "I'll take a salad," Sam said, still staring at Grace who was smiling.

"You're going to catch flies if you keep staring at me like that, Sammy." "Sorry, it's just...you're tiny and wait- what? How can you eat that?"

"Let me think...I'm hungry, it's good stuff and Chad never let me eat something that good," Grace thought. "I second that," Dean said, leaning back on the bench of the booth. Grace sipped on her water and looked outside, watching people pass.

"You know, I really wish I could do something cool," she said after a while. "What do you mean?" said Sam as the waitress brought them their food. Dean didn't waste a second before digging into his food. "Thank you," Grace said, picking up her burger from the plate. "I mean I wish I could do something...angel-like," she said once the waitress left.

"So you really can't do anything at all?" Dean asked, munching on his food. "No," Grace looked at him funny. Grace took a bite of her burger. "This is good. You're missing out on something, Sammy. Want a bite?" she asked him.

"No, thanks," Sam grimaced. "I wouldn't have let you take a bite from this anyway. This is gold," Grace looked out of the window again and nearly choked at what she saw. She swallowed her food and drank some water.

"You alright?" Dean looked at her, worried. Grace blinked a few times and looked at the same spot. Nothing.

"Yeah, I thought I saw something, never mind. Where are we going after the mall?" she changed the topic.

"Home," Dean said, making Sam give him a short glance. "Oh, were?" Grace asked, interested. "Lebanon, Kansas."

Grace's eyes widened. "Really? I was born there, well not _there_ but in Kansas," she said, a bright smile plastered on her face. "Which city?"

"Lawrence."

Dean and Sam exchanged glances. "What is it?" Grace eyed them. "We, uh... We're from Lawrence too," Dean said.

"What? We could've met before," Grace voiced.

"It depends, what year were you born in?" Sam asked her. "1981, what about you two?"

"1979."

"1983."

"I'm older than Sam?" Grace laughed. "It's a shame I don't remember the address. All I know is that I lived next to the Myers and the Johnsons. My mum wanted to move after a house burned down in our street... It was tragic, she told me..." Grace stared at her food.

It grew silent for a moment and Grace realized. "Oh god, guys was- is that how she died?" Grace asked, eyes wide in shock. Sam nodded. "The Winchesters... John and Mary? Your parents?"

"Yes, why?" Dean asked, a little pained. "I don't know, it's like I remember just now, like something clicked in my mind. Sam, Dean, I'm remembering things..."

"Maybe there's nothing to it. You probably just forgot, it's a long time ago..." Sam suggested but Grace shook her head. "No, it's like someone wiped my memory clean. It's always been there."

"Why would someone erase your memory?" "I don't know, Sam. I'd tell you if I knew. I can tell you something."

The boys raised their eyebrows, expectantly. "I remember you," she said. "What? How? I mean, I clearly don't remember you, I was a baby," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, and you still are," said Dean before turning back to Grace. "Yeah, whatever..."

"I swear I just saw bits and pieces of memories with you two flash before my eyes!" she exclaimed.

"What did you see?" Dean asked as she met his eyes. "You," she told him with a smile. "And you too, Sam."

Sam smiled, looking down. "We used to play together, Dean." Dean thought hard, trying to remember anything. "That's awfully long ago," he said.

"I know."

Dean watched Sam and Grace talk and he couldn't help but wonder who this girl in front of him was. Sure, he knew her name and that they've met before but how big were the chances that they met again?

One day Cas came by and told them he had a case for them, one unlike the others. A girl that needed to be protected. Why, they didn't know. Dean knew there she was part of a bigger picture. Why else would Cas keep something from them? He made sure to ask him once he showed himself.

"...on purpose?" Dean snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yeah- definitely," he said, nodding feverishly.

"He wasn't listening, was he?" Grace asked Sam. "No."

"I said, are you doing that on purpose?" Grace repeated. "Doing what?" Dean asked, still confused.

"Are you purposely taking so long to eat your food?" Sam said. "Oh, no. I was thinking..."

"Well, we're ready to go, what about you?" he asked his brother. "Let's go, but I'm taking this with me," Dean stood up.

"Okay, I'll drive," Sam said.

Dean grunted and stopped in his tracks, making Grace almost run into him. "Geez, Dean!" Grace walked around him.

"Grace?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Shotgun."


End file.
